Jules Van Nuffel (21 March 1883 – 25 June 1953) was a Belgian priest,

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

, composer, and a renowned expert on

religious music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as ritual. Relig ...

Biography

Born on 21 March 1883 in Hemiksem, Belgium, Van Nuffel studied at the Grand

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of Mechelen for the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

hood, in addition to

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

, organ, harmony and counterpoint. He was ordained priest by

Cardinal Mercier Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

on 25 May 1907. As a cantor at

Mechelen Cathedral St. Rumbold's Cathedral ( nl, Sint-Romboutskathedraal, french: Cathédrale Saint-Rombaut) is the Roman Catholic metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium, dedicated to Saint Rumbold, Christian missionary and martyr who had fou ...

, he founded the cathedral choir, and directed it until 1949. In this connection, he collaborated with the

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

at the cathedral, the renowned

Flor Peeters Franciscus Florentinus Peeters, Baron Peeters (4 July 1903 – 4 July 1986) was a Belgian composer, organist and academic teacher. He was director of the Conservatorium in Antwerp, Belgium, and organist at Mechelen Cathedral from 1923 to his deat ...

. Also, from 1918 until his death (in Wilrijk, Belgium), on 25 June 1953, Van Nuffel directed the Lemmens Institute in Leuven.

Composer

A nationally prominent composer of

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

works (though little known outside his native land), Van Nuffel numbered among his favorite composers

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

. The numbering of the psalms, which he composed for the liturgy, follows the Latin Psalter. One of his crowning achievements was the creation of the ''

Nova Organi Harmonia A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

''. This was an eight-volume collection of Gregorian accompaniments, composed by Van Nuffel himself, along with Peeters,

Jules Vyverman Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

Marinus de Jong Marinus de Jong (14 January 1891, Oosterhout - 13 July 1984, Ekeren) was a Belgian composer and pianist of Dutch origin. Biography Marinus de Jong was born in Oosterhout (The Netherlands) to a working-class family with twelve children. His musical ...

, and other professors at the Lemmens Institute. The ''Nova Organi Harmonia'' was reprinted in many editions after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Works

* ''Christus vincit'', for four-part

male voice choir A men's chorus or male voice choir (MVC) (German: ''Männerchor''), is a choir consisting of men who sing with either a tenor or bass voice, and whose music is typically arranged into high and low tenors (1st and 2nd tenor), and high and low bass ...

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

, for four-part

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

* ''Missa Paschalis ad 2 voces æquales'', for soprano/alto or tenor/baritone and organ (n.d.) * '' Super flumina Babylonis'' (

Psalm 136 Psalm 136 is the 136th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. ". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew B ...

), op. 25 (1916), for four-to-six-part choir and organ (or orchestra) * ''Missa in honorem S.S. Cordis Jesu'', op. 28, for four-to-six-part choir and organ * ''Statuit ei Dominus'', op. 30 (1924), for four-to-six-part choir and organ (or orchestra) * ' ( Psalm 125), op. 32 (1926), for four-to-seven-part choir and organ * ''

Ecce sacerdos magnus is a piece of Christian religious music. It is an antiphon and a responsory from the common of confessor bishops in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Graduale Romanum, and the Epistle in their proper Mass. It belongs to Sir 50,Ecce sacerdos m ...

'', op. 34 (1926), for six-part choir and organ * ''Josephsmesse'', for three-part female choir * ''Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me'' (

Psalm 6 Psalm 6 is the sixth psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure". In Latin, it is known as "Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me". Th ...

), op. 44 (1935) * '' Laetatus sum'' ( Psalm 121), op. 45 (1935), for four-part choir * ''Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi '' (

Psalm 141 Psalm 141 is the 141st psalm from the Book of Psalms. It is attributed to David, a plea to God not only for protection from the psalmist's enemies, but also from temptation to sin. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Sept ...

), op. 47 (1935) for eight-part choir * ''Dominus regnavit'' (

Psalm 92 The Psalm 92, known as ''Mizmor Shir L'yom HaShabbat'', is ostensibly dedicated to the Shabbat day. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 91. Alth ...

), op. 49 (1935) for four-to-six-part choir and organ * ''Ad te Dominum cum tribularer clamavi'' (

Psalm 119 Psalm 119 is the 119th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord". The Book of Psalms is in the third section of the Hebrew Bible, the ' ...

), op. 50 (1936) * ''Ad te levavi oculos meus'' (

Psalm 122 Psalm 122 is the 122nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I was glad" and in Latin entitled Laetatus sum. It is attributed to King David and one of the fifteen psalms described as A song of ascents (Sh ...

), op. 51 (1935) * Te Deum, op. 62 (1944) for choir, brass ensemble and organ

References

Sources

* * *

External links

*
Website about Jules Van Nuffel (1883–1953)
a website (in Dutch and English) about the composer including a biography, overview of works and media references
Nova Organi Harmonia
* 1883 births 1953 deaths Belgian musicologists Belgian classical composers Belgian male classical composers 20th-century classical composers Choral composers Musicians from Antwerp 20th-century musicologists 20th-century Belgian male musicians {{Belgium-composer-stub